Karen Gillan: 'Doctor Who Fans Are in Safe Hands with Peter Capaldi'

"Science fiction has been the best for me."

By
Roth Cornet

Doctor Who's eighth season is set to debut this August and will truly begin Peter Capaldi's tenure as the Doctor.

Former - and fan beloved - companion Amy Pond herself, Karen Gillan, was on hand at today's TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour to promote her upcoming ABC comedy, Selfie, where she was asked what she thought of the new Doctor.

"I'm so exited," Gillan exclaimed. "I was actually there when Peter Capaldi walked onto the set for the first time and it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen."

"It's in safe hands," the actress assured. Gillan was on the set filming a final scene with Matt Smith for his regeneration episode.

"Literally it was one in and one out. Matt Smith left the studio and then Peter Capaldi, the new Doctor, walked in. I was there for both of them and I was like, 'Whoa, it really is that fast of a changeover.'"

When asked how she felt about her character's exit from the series, the actress reiterated that she could not have been more pleased.

"They gave me the exit that I wanted," Gillan said. "It was dramatic and emotional and all of the things that I'd hoped it would be. And they gave Arthur Darvill, who played my husband in the show, a really good exit and a heroic moment, which made me really happy."

Gillan is, of course, also set to appear as the villainous Nebula in Marvel's Guardians of Galaxy beginning on August 1. The actress quipped that her shaved head did "half of the work" for her on the film, as she felt far more intimidating with it.

Selfie is a comedy, which Gillan has a strong background in, but the actress stressed that she absolutely wants to continue to work in genre.

"Science fiction has been the best for me," Gillan said. "I want to continue working in genre, because I think it has amazing female roles and we get to do a range of emotions - comedy and drama."

The Doctor Who Season 8 premiere, “Deep Breath,” will air Saturday, August 23 at 8:00pm ET. As has now become the norm, the episode will air in the UK first on the same day on BBC One, then in the US on BBC America. Selfie premieres Tuesday, September 30 on ABC.